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Alex Pereira entered UFC 307 with multiple health issues, he revealed after his impressive TKO win over Khalil Rountree Jr on Saturday.
Pereira overcame a tricky start to stop Rountree Jr in round four in Utah, sealing his third successful defence of the light-heavyweight title this year.
In his previous defences, the Brazilian knocked out former champions Jamahal Hill and Jiri Prochazka in April and June respectively, having also knocked out Prochazka last November to win the vacant belt. And while Pereira’s activity has earned him plentiful praise, it has come at a physical cost.
“The fight was really tough, but only my team really knows how tough this camp was,” the 37-year-old said at a post-fight press conference on Saturday (5 October). “I went through a lot of stuff that nobody really knows about.
“I was in Brazil over a month ago, I had some problems with my visa; I was going over to the consulate every single day, trying to see if my passport was ready to be picked up. Finally I made it back to the US, spent about a week in Connecticut, [have] been here for three weeks.
“In that meantime I was on antibiotics. I had a fever, I had a bad throat, and a lot of things happened. Also, going back: when I was in Brazil, I hurt my rib. It was an injury that I had about a year ago, and it came back, so that was also something that I was dealing with.
“Then when I came here, my throat was still bad. I went to the doctor, had another round of antibiotics. I even recorded a video at the time: I said in the video I would show it if I won, so we can put that out at some point. But I went through a lot.
“Also, the ligament in my toe that was hurt from UFC 300 [in April], that came back. There’s a lot of things that I went through in this camp. It was a tough fight, but it was a tough lead-up to this fight, and I actually feel really proud of myself at this moment.”
Pereira has been ‘speed-running’ a UFC Hall of Fame career, in the words of some fans and pundits. The former kickboxing champion made his UFC debut in 2021, and he won the middleweight belt in 2022 by knocking out his old sporting rival Israel Adesanya.
Pereira then lost the title to Adesanya via knockout in 2023, before debuting at light-heavyweight. He has been perfect in that division, with five wins overall and four against ex-champions.
Elaborating on the effect of his recent injuries and illness, Pereira added: “I’d honestly rather not go through what I went through, because the body suffers. You suffer physically, but the mind is really what suffers in these cases, so I’d rather not have to go through that.
“For sure, it’s a lot. I think that there is a limit [to how often I can fight]. I want to push myself as much as I can – I’m 37 and I want to take advantage of time – but I do need to take a break. I have some commitments in Mexico and Korea and Malta […] I need to take some time off, but I’m going to be training.”
